Lindsey Poisson: While away, cats will play

Once a reluctant traveler, I've done a fair amount of road tripping this year.

That means one or two nights away from my kitties, Chuck and Vinny. But with two large feeders filled with food and water, it's no problem.

Well. Almost.

Getting ready for a trip is stressful enough, but getting back is becoming nerve-racking, too.

It never fails that the cats do something weird and/or destructive while I'm away. I can somehow sense it before I even unlock the door.

And unfortunately, my Jedi-like intuition is usually spot on. I've learned to take a deep breath as I open the door and behold the chaos.

But I have to hand it to the boys -- they usually do something different every time.

A lot of times the toilet paper -- no matter which way the paper hangs -- is unfurled and all over the bathroom floor. Other times, the shirts that were in my dirty clothes bin are somehow scattered to the far corners of the apartment, and the bin itself is knocked over and used as a kitty bed.

Lamps are knocked over. Cat toys are left to soak in the water dish. Photos or mail are stealthily removed from bins and ripped, crinkled and chewed. Lately, I've been seeing a lot of batteries around -- and I'm not sure where they're getting them.

Yet Chuck and Vinny always -- always -- look so innocent when they come to greet me at the door, or when I poke my head in the bathroom and find one curled up in the sink and another snoozing in the shower.

I suppose it could be worse, like a wild kegger party broken up by the cops. But I'm still going to arrange for a cat sitter when I leave for New York in a few weeks.